Steering-gear.



J. R. S. SMITH.

STEERING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22 19l6.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

ATTORNEYS E ,QQSflUK WITNESSES J. R. S. SMITH.

STEERING GEAR.

APPUCATION. FILED APR. 22. 1916.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

INVENTOR WITNESSES A TTOR/VE Y8 JOSEPH RYAN STILL SMITH, OF PLACERVILLE,COLORADO.

STEERING-GEAR.

Original application filed April 21, 1915, Serial No. 22,811.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 24, 1917.

Divided and this application filed April 22,

1916. Seral No. 93,017.

i '0 all whom it may concern:

lie it known that l, Josnrn ll. S. Snrrn, a eitizenbt' the United Statesand a restdent of Placer-ville, San Miguel county, Colorado, haveinvented a new and Improved Steering-Gear, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to motor vehicles or other analogous machines andhas particular reference to steering gears for such machines.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an improved mechanismwhereby the driver may have direct and eii'ectivc control of either thefront wheels or the rear wheels independently of each other or wherebyhe may operate all of the wheels at the same time.

Another object of the invention is to improve the facilities forsteering all of the wheels of a vehicle whose wheels are all adapted tobe driven positively through, independent connections with a singleprime mover as fully explained and claimed in my copending applicationfiled April 21, 1915, Serial No. 22.811, allowed December 13, 1915, andof which application this is a division.

Vith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists inthe arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact detailsof construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose oi illustratinga practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like ref erence characters designate the same partsin the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of afour-wheel drive automobile chassis showing the running gear and drivingand steering devices in diagram;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional detail on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig.4 is a transverse-sectional detail on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fi 4 but corresponding more nearlyto the lower portion of Fig. 2 and representing a modified form of theinvention; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the driving mechanism shown herein to makeclear the arrangement and operation of the steering devices.

Referring now to Fig. 1 for a general understanding of the machine, Ishow a vehicle chassis comprising longitudinal bars 10 connected byt'ansversc bars 11, 12, 13, 11, 15, 16 and any other suitableconnections. At 17 is indicated a prime mover having forwardly andrearwardly projecting shafts 18 leading to differential gear casings 19through which transverse shafts 20 are operated for independentoperation of driving sprocket chains 21 leading to as many independentshafts 22 journaled in vertically adjustable bearings 23 above the mainaxles 2401 the vehicle. As shown herein and as used in practice, each ofthe four wheels is journaled upon a steering knuckle 26 mounted within ayoke 27 and adjustable around a vertical axis therein. said yoke beingconnected to the main axle 24. The steering knuckle has an arm 28projecting therefrom and the arms 28 of each pair of front or rearwheels are connected by a bar 29. To each of the shafts 22 is connected:1 sprocket wheel 30 over which the adjacent chain 21 operates.

Reverting now to the steering devices more particularly and as shownbest in Fig. 2, I provide a hollow stationary'post 31. se cured upon andextending upwardly from the cross bar 16, the same being connecteddirectly to a housing or bracket 32 constituting a guard for certainparts soon to be described. At 33 is indicated a. main hand wheel fixedupon the upper end of a shaft 34 journaled at its lower end at in thecross bar 16. Within the open space in the bracket 32 is arranged asprocket wheel 36 secured rigidly to the shaft 3 1-. From this wheel ashort sprocket chain 37 operates to and over a sprocket wheel 38connected to the upper end of a worm shaft 39 journaled in the cross bar15. The worm 40 meshes with a worm gear 41 connected to a transverseshaft 42 journaled horizontally in the cross bar 15 and having ctnnectedthereto an arm 43 from which a link 44 extends into'connection with thearm 28 at one side of the vehicle. By this means rotation of the handWheel 33 and shaft 34 in one direction will tend to steer the frontwheels in a corresponding direction depending upon the character of theWorm 10. This operation is predicated upon the fact that the shaft 34 isadapted to be journaled for free rotation within the post 31.

Surrounding the shaft 34 and between it and the fixed post 31 is ahollow shaft likewise adapted for free rotation within ,the post andhaving secured at its lower end within the opening of the bracket 32another sprocketwheel 46 from which a longer sprocket chain 48 leads tothe rear truck of the vehicle and over a sprocket wheel 38 connected toa worm shaft 39 for operation of the rear wheels in connection with thefront wheels through the chain 37.

At t9 I show a-huh mounted upon the hollow shaft 45 and slidahle up anddown thereon between a clutch head at the upper end of the post 31 and asimilar clutch head 51 at the lower portion of the hand wheel 33. Thehub 49 is provided with clutch teeth 50 and 51 adapted. to engage inalternation with the respective clutch heads 50 and 51 depending uponthe position of the hub along the shaft 45. The hub is held, however.from rotation with respect to the hollow shaft 45 by means of a lookingplate 52 extending into a groove 53 in the hollow shaft and into asimilar groove 5% formed on the inner surface of the hub 49. Thislocking plate is provided with a series of notches 55. 56 and 57 intowhich the point 58 of a hell crank controlling lever 59 is adapted toproject under the force of a leaf spring (30 secured to the hub 49; otherwise. however. the locking plate does not interfere with the up anddown sliding movements of the hub. A. spring 61 is mounted between thehub and. the clutch head 50 of the post and tends to lift the huh andlower hand wheel (32 connected thereto.

\Vhen the hand wheel 2 and huh 49 are forced downwardly against thespring 61, bringing the teeth 50 and 50 into engagement, the point 58 ofthe locking lever will snap into the notch. 57. thereby locking the handwheel 62 down to its lowermost position, and through the fixed post 31this hand wheel and hollow shaft -15 are locked stationary and therebythe rear wheels are held from steering movement.

When the locking dog or lever 59 is released from the last namedposition and the hand wheel 62 and hub 49 are brought up into engagementwith the clutch head 51 of the upper wheel and there held by the lockingdog entering the notch 55, the two hand wheels and two steering shafts34 and 45 are locked together for simultaneous move-' ment throughmanipulation of either of the hand wheels. By this arrangement thesteering may be effected through both front and rear wheels, the turningof which may be in the same direction or/in opposite directions,depending, as intimated above, upon the direction of the threads of theworms 40.

\Vhen the huh 49 is locked in its mid position, as shown in Figs. 2 and3, and out of engagement'with both of the clutch heads 50 and 51, bothhand wheels and parts connected individually thereto are free forindependent rotation by the operator in either direction.

The structure shown in Fig. 5 is somewhat simpler than that abovedescribed and comprises a steering worm 40 connected di 7. reetly to theprimary steering shaft 34, and surrounding this shaft is a secondary orhollow shaft 45 having connected to its lower end, as before, a sprocketwheel 46.

I claim The herein described steering devices for automobiles, the samecomprising a fixed tubular post. a pair of independently rotatableshafts journaled coaXially of the post, a pair of hand wheels connectedto the respec tive rotary shafts and each held from rotation withrelation to its shaft, the holding means for one of the hand wheelsincluding a hub slidable along its shaft, and means to control thesliding movement of the hub whereby the hand wheel connected thereto isadapted to be locked either to the post for non-rotation, to the. otherhand fWlleGl for rotation therewith, or in a mid position independent ofboth the other hand wheel and the post.

.I(.)SEPH RYAN STILL SMITH.

'itnesses:

lmwxs l). JOHNSON, FERNA xno MAYNARD.

